Some Definitions:

- Concrete: is a manufactured mixture of cement and water, with aggregates of sand and stone.
- Reinforced Concrete: was developed to add the tensile strength of steel to the compressive strength of mass concrete. The combination is much more versatile than either product; it serves not only for constructing rigid frames but also for foundations, columns, walls, floors, and a limitless variety of coverings, and it does not require the addition of other structural materials.
- Steel Reinforcement: is employed to take full advantage of the plastic, or sculptural, character of concrete. It can be joined or bent to unify supporting members with the floors and the coverings they carry.
- Concrete Shell Construction: permits the erection of vast vaults and domes with a concrete and steel content so reduced that the thickness is comparatively less than that of an eggshell.
- Precast Concrete Construction: employs bricks, slabs, and supports made under optimal factory conditions to increase waterproofing and solidity, to decrease time and cost in erection, and to reduce expansion and contractions.
- Prestressed Concrete: provides bearing members into which reinforcement is set under tension to produce a live force to resist a particular load. Since the member acts like a spring, it can carry a greater load than an unstressed member of the same size.



Illustrations:

Reinforced Concrete.
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Precast Concrete.
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Prestressed concrete.
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Concrete-shell.
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The difference between tiltwall construction, tilt-up panel construction and pre-cast concrete construction.

This terms are used to reference nontraditional cement building porcesses.
Tiltmall and tilt-up are terms used to describe the same process.

Tilt-up concrete bulding: the walls are created by assembling forms and pouring large slabs of concrete called panels directly at the job site. The panels are then tilted up into position around the building's slab. Tilt-up panel have been measured at just over 69 feet across and almost 93 feet from top to bottom.

Tiltwall construction: the concrete tiltwall forms are assembled and poured directly at the job site, no transportation of panels is required. Tiltwall panels can sometimes be extremely wide and/or tall.

Precast concrete building process: similar to tilt-up construction, but it addresses the challenges presented by weather. For precast concrete buildings, work crews do not set up forms at the job site to create the panels. Instead, workers pre cast concrete panels at a large manufacturing facility. Because the precast concrete forms are poured indoors, this activity can take place regardless the weather conditions.



Conclusion:

Concrete has been one of the most importants and versatiles materials for the bulding process. Besides from the obvious factors of strength and rigidity it is also 100% reusable just add water and sand to the mix of crushed concrete and you have new cement to use also it has a typical 50 to 100 year life span.